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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Marty Hanks <marty AT justbeenc.com>
  • To: Thomas Grizzle <griz AT mindspring.com>, Orange County Bees <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Worried (Needlessly?)
  • Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2012 11:51:16 -0400

HI Tom
I'd first like to add that i have seen a 5 fold of SHB this years in my hives! Even in the ones in 80% sun all day. That to me is an issue we all need to pay attention to. So one you are not alone, but i do question the second inner cover. NOT from experience, but rather just another hiding place. I have seen and used the plastic pail or entrance feeder you are talking about placed right on top of the bars and then the extra empty super added...then the covers. You can try this and i feel the bees will have better access to the SHB's. I have heard good things about those new flat (advertising sign) corrugated plastic beetle traps. Easy to use and cheap.
 
As to the low to no honey stores...this another issue i have seen and heard about this year. There has been a weird "flora" drought. Not sure if the early high heat killed back the floras or since the weather patterns is still on that 3 week early track that all started from this past warm winter. All i know if i have seen robbing for the first time at my yards, several hives at my place and others i've visited are WAY lower than we'd like.
 
I have heard-read the bees FEED the SHB's so w/ the 5 fold increase there is some of the food going out the door add reduced resources and stress and I am guessing we are seeing an unprecedented "nectar drought". its weird w/ the late day rains but 95% of my clover we sewed did not come back.
 
I'd keep the feeder on top, consider the 2 qt plastic pail option as this will reduce the times you go in. Less work for you and less stress on the bees. I got mine form Lowe's w/ a lid for $3. Just poke tiny holes in it and set on the bars. Busy Bee sells one for $6 w/ a tiny screen. I DO see pollen coming in out here in south orange so i can not speak for your area, but you are in a residential area so you should be covered.
 
good luck!
marty
On Sat, Aug 25, 2012 at 11:11 AM, Thomas Grizzle <griz AT mindspring.com> wrote:

Hi All,

 

I need some wisdom from the group.  Today for the first time when I went into my hive to give them a quart of sugar water early in the morning (at about 7:00 AM), I did not like what I found.  It is usually much later in the day.  Some background….

 

I purchased bees from Busy Bee and started one hive from scratch (all foundation comb) in April of this year.  I started with one deep and used a screened top feeder super, feeding about 10-15 pounds of sugar initially.  About a month into it, I realized that the screen allowed small hive beetle to have unlimited access to the sugar water without the bees being able chase them away and I had a couple dozen running around.  So I abandoned this feeder and started using a front feeder at the entrance with an inverted quart jar.  After doing this a month or so I received a book (Beekeeper’s Handbook) which said it is not a good idea to feed this way due to robbing, so I changed again about a month ago.  At this point I have a deep with the brood, a second deep on top of that they are supposed to be drawing out the comb in (but it is slow going), and then an inner cover.  Then I put the quart feeder over the opening in the inner cover, place a third deep box around that (w/o frames), a second inner cover over top of this empty deep containing the feeder, and then the outer cover.  I have been giving 1-2 quarts a week of about 1:1 (water:sugar).

 

Today, when I opened the first inner cover, probably 25-30 small hive beetles ran for cover (“hands of doom” came down for about 10 of the little bastards).  This prompted me to look deeper into the hive.  The second deep was very light, no honey or fully drawn comb yet, but lots of efforts in this regard with partially drawn comb, and bees all over the 10 frames.  In the lowest deep, I did a random sampling of frames (looked at 4 across the 10) and could not find much honey or pollen.  There were capped brood and a good population of bees (it was early AM before they forage), hard to say how many but way more than I’d purchased originally by several fold.  I looked and could not see eggs, but I have never been able to see them yet.  Did not look for the queen.

 

So what would Scooby doo?  Do I feed like heck and since I have a good population, that should keep the SHB in check?  I plan to give them a quart every day for the next couple of weeks.  Should I up the concentration to a 1:2 (water:sugar), just to give them the added calories?  Should I think about other nutritionals?  Should I attack the SHB issue?

 

I understand the responses to these questions may conflict, i.e., one person may think I should do x, y and z and another may think w, x and y, but that is ok, I’d like to hear the full breadth of opinions, so please don’t be inhibited.

 

Much appreciated.  I’ll email again in a month or so with the outcome. 

 

Tom Grizzle


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Marty Hanks
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